Cleaning of the inking rollers and printing cylinders of printing machines



1929- E. J. SMITH CLEANING OF THE INKING ROLLERS AND PRINTING CYLINPRINTING MACHINES e0. 8. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DERS 0F Filed D 1929- E.J. SMITH CLEANING OF THE INKING ROLLERS AND PRINTING CYLINDERS 0FPRINTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 8. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENaTOR.

Patented Oct. 1, i929 UNIT STARS JAMES SMITH, O13 LONDON, ENGLAND,ASSIGNOR TO THE GOSS PRINTING TEE FFICE PRESS COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS CLEANING OF THE INKING ROLLERS ANDPRINTING CYLINDERS OF PRINTING MACHINES Application filed December 8,1926, Serial No. 153,364, and in Great Britain February 15, 1926.

This invention relates to the cleaning of the ink supplying anddistributing rollers and the printing cylinders of printing machines,the chief object being to enable the various rollers, drums or the likeemployed in the inking system and also the printing cylinder to beeffectively cleaned in an expeditious manner in situ.

According to this invention the cleaning" of the various rollers or thelike and the printing cylinder is effected by spraying or directing acleaning liquid or lye on to one or more ofthe rollers. For the cleaningoperation the said inking rollers and drums and the printing cylinderare rotated -so that the cleaning liquid supplied to one or more of theinking rollers can be distributed over the peripheral surfaces of thesaid rollers and over the type on the printing cylinder in the same waythat the ink is suppiled and distributed and conveyed to the type orprinting cylinder during the printing operation. The impression cylindermay be retained out of contact with the type on the printing cylinderduring the cleaning operation to prevent the blanket on the impressioncylinder from being detrimentally affected by the cleaning lye. Duringthe cleaning operation and the rotation of the rollers and printingcylinder as aforesaid, the rollers that draw or pull the paper into themachine are not rotated.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, the same will now be more fully described withreference to the accompanying drawings in I which Figure 1 illustratesan arrangement of inking rollers and drums of one type of inkingmechanism provided with means whereby the cleaning method according tothis invention can be carried out.

Figure 2 illustrates an ink supply nozzle which can also be used inconnection with the cleaning of the inking rollers and the likeaccording to the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of the clutch and associatedmechanism for stopping the rotation of the paper drawing rollers duringthe cleaning operation.v

Referring to Figure 1, the arrangement illustrated comprises an inkfountain A with a vibratory roller B for supplying the ink to a smalldistributing drum or cylinder C from which the ink is conveyed by aseries of dis tributing rollers D to a larger drum or cylin der E withwhich engage the form rollers ll that supply the ink to the type orprinting cylinder Gr. The cleaning liquid or lye may be supplied fromatank or reservoir by means of a pump or other feeding device to a pipeI-I having a series of outlets or nozzles along the same so that the lyecan be caused to issue therefrom and to impinge on the drum I Thecleaning operation is carried out whilst the inking rollers and the typecylinder are rotated in order to distribute the cleaning lye over theirperipheral surfaces and over the type and as it is not necessary thatthe paper drawing or pulling rollers should be rotated during thecleaning operation a clutch is provided for rendering these rollerssilent so that the paper remains stationary in the machine during therotation of the inking rollers and the like when being cleaned. Theimpression cylinder I is so mounted that it can be retained out ofcontact with the printing cylinder during the cleaning operation, andfor this purpose the said cylinder I may be mounted on eccentrics Jwhich can be angularly moved by suitable means in order to cause theimpression cylinder I to be moved away from the printing cylinder so asto prevent the lye which is distributed over the surface of the typefrom reaching the blankets on the said impression cylinder. A scraper Kmay be provided to remove the dirty ink from the peripheral surface ofthe small distributing drum C so that it can fall into a suitablecollecting receptacle L having an overflow pipe through which the lyemay flow or return to the main supply tank whilst the dirt remains inthe bottom of the said receptacle. The said scraper may be mounted on arockable shaft that can be angnlarly moved to place the scraper in aninoperatite position out of engagement with the inking roller or drum Cfor the printing operation. In order to dry the type on the printingcylinder quickly after having been cleaned by the distribution of thelye over the same, hot or cold air may be caused to impinge on the typepreferably adjacent to one of the inking or form rollers F and for thispurpose an air supply pipe Ml. may extend. along the printing cylinderin close proximity to the lower part thereof and may be provided Withopenings or nozzles through which the air issues so as to impinge on theprinting cylinder and dry the type thereon quickly and ensure that nolye is left thereon when the ink supplying system is brought into usefor the next printing operation. The said lye supply pipe and the airsupply pipe may be mounted on or in close proximity to a vertical guardplate N disposed adjacent to the various inking rollers, the lye pipebeing conveniently located at or near the bottom of the said platewhilst the air supply pipe may be mounted at or near the top thereof.Figure 2 illustrates a construction of nozzle through, which the ink issupplied to the inking rollers, a series of such nozzles being disposedadjacent to one of the inking rollers; These nozzles are also adaptedfor enabling the cleaning lye to be passed through them for cleaning theinking rollers. The ink supply nozzle is represented by O and this isnormally closed by a valve P under the influence of a spring. The ink isnormally supplied under pressure to the space Q, around the closing endof the valve so that when the pressure of the ink acting on the piston Rforming part of the valve exceeds that of the spring the valve is forcedrear- Wardly so as to open the nozzle and allow the ink to pass throughthe latter and to be di rected on to the distributing drum C. After theprinting operation or when the ink supply pressure is reduced the springcauses the valve P to close the nozzle. The said valve is formed with apassage extending through the same and the rear end of the valve isconnected to a pipe 3 through which the cleaning liquid or lye can beforced by a pump S from a tank S so as to pass into the passage in thevalve whence it is directed through the passage in the nozzle to removethe ink therefrom. The lye issuing through the nozzle is directed on tothe small distributing drum C and by rotating this drum and the otherinking rollers the lye is distributed over the peripheral surfaces ofthe inking rollers and over the type on the printing cylinder, thuscleaning the rollers and the printing cylinder. A scraper K is locatedwithin a collecting receptacleL on a rockable shaft for removing thedirty ink from the distributing drum A during the cleaning operation.

In Fig. 3 is shown an embodiment of the mechanism for silencing orstopping the rotation of the paper drawing rollers while permitting thecontinued rotation of the inking rollers and printing cylinders. Asembodied, the shaft 1 supported on the press frame by a suitable bracket2 extends parallel to and is driven by suitable gearing from the maindrive shaft of the press (not shown), as will be clear to those skilledin the art. A shaft 3 extends perpendicularly upward at the end of shaft1 and is similarly journaled in bracekts 4 and 5.

Shaft 3 is driven from shaft 1 through bevel gears 6 and 7 fixed torotate with shafts 1 and 3 respectively by suitable sleeves and pins.

The paper-drawing roller 8 is mounted above the former 9 and serves todraw the web of papers from the printing members I and G in the usualmanner. Suitable slitters and cooperating, guiding rollers may beprovided to cooperate with roller 8 in the usual manner.

The embodied mechanism for driving the roller 8 from the vertical shaft3 will be clear from the drawing, and comprises spur gears 10 and 11driven from horizontal shaft 12 suitably mounted in the frame androtated by bevel gears 13 and 14 from the vertical shaft Shaft 15extends parallel to and is driven by shaft 3 through gears 16 and 17.

The usual cutting, collecting and crossfolding cylinders to which thelongitudinally folded web passes from the former 9 are actuated by asuitable horizontally disposed shaft which is driven by shaft 3 throughbevel gears 19 and 20.

The embodied means for silencing the hereinbefore describedpaper-drawing mechanism comprises a clutch for disconnecting shaft 3from its driving source.

Shaft 3 is formed in two portions, the lower portion 3 being providedwith a sleeve 21. ex:- tending upwardly from bevel ear 7 and havingclutching teeth 22. A sleeve member 2 1 is slidably mounted on the lowerend of the upper portion of shaft 3 bv a key 25, and is provided withclutching teeth 26 adapted to cooperate with teeth 22. A clutchoperating handle 27 is pivotally mounted on the press frame and servesto engage and disengage the clutch members.

It will be clear from the foregoing that the disengagement of the clutchwill silence the paper-drawing rollers and the cooperating mechanism,while permitting the continued rotation of the printing members, drivenfrom the main shaft of the press.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specificmechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefromwithin the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from theprinciples of the invention and without sacrificing its chiefadvantages.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis 1. A method of cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollers ordrums and the printing cylinder of a printing press, comprising thedirecting of a cleaning liquid or lye on to one or more of the rollersor the like and rotating the latter as Well as the printing cylinder soas to distribute the cleaning lye over the peripheral surfaces of theserollers and over the type on the printing cylinder, and then forcing acurrent of air against the printing cylinder to rapidly dry the typethereon.

2. Apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollers ordrums and the printing cylinder of a printing press by directing acleaning liquid or lye thereon, comprising a pipe extending along one ofthe inking rollers and having nozzles or outlets through Which thecleaning lye can be directed onto the said roller, and means operated bya moving part of the press for forcing cleaning liquid through theoutlets.

3. Apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollers ordrums and the printing cylinder of a printing press by directing acleaning liquid or lye thereon, comprising valves for closing saidnozzles to the ink supply, means for forcing the cleaning r liquidthrough passages in said valves and through said nozzles onto one ormore of the inking rollers When the nozzles are closed to the ink supplyby the valves.

4:. Apparatus for cleaning the inking rollers or drums and the printingcylinder of a printing press comprising means for directing a cleaningliquid or lye onto one or more of said rollers, means for rotating thesaid rollers and the printing cylinder and means for preventing rotationof the paper or Web pulling or drawing rollers during the cleaningoperation.

5. Apparatus for cleaning the inking rollers or drums and the printingcylinder of a printing press comprising means actuated by a moving partof the press for directing a cleaning liquid or lye onto one or more ofsaid. rollers, means for rotating the said rollers and the printingcylinder and means for placing the printing cylinder and the impressioncylinder out of contact for the cleaning operation.

6. An apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollersor drums and the form cylinder of a printing press including incombination means for directing cleaning fluid onto a cylinder, meansfor transferring the cleaning fluid from said cylinder to a formcylinder, and means for rapidly drying the surface of the form cylinder.

7 An apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollersor drums and the form cylinder of a printing press including incombination an ink distributing cylinder, means for directing cleaningfluid onto the cylinder, and a pump driven from the cylinder for forcingcleaning fluid through the directing means onto the cylinder.

8. An apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollersor drums and the form cylinder of a printing press including incombination an ink distributing cylinder, a conduit for directing inkonto the cylinder, a valve for closing the conduit to prevent thepassage of ink to the cylinder and means for directing cleaning fluidthrough the conduit When the valve is closed.

9. An apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollersor drums and the form cylinder of a printing press including incombination an ink distributing cylinder, a conduit for directing inkonto the cylinder, a valve for closing the conduit to prevent thepassage of ink to the cylinder and a passage through the valve fordirect ing cleaning fluid through the conduit when the valve is closed.

10. An apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollersor drums and the form cylinder of a printing press including incombination means for spraying cleaning fluid to the printing surface ofa form cylinder and means for rapidly drying said printing surface.

11. An apparatus for cleaning the ink supplying and distributing rollersand the form cylinder of a Web printing press ineluding in combinationmeans for supplying cleaning fluid to one or more of said rollers, meansfor rotating said rollers and printing cylinder, and means for holdingthe Web stationary during the cleaning operation.

12. An apparatus for cleaning the inkloearing parts of a Web printingpress including in combination means for supplying cleaning fluid tosaid parts, means for moving said parts to distribute the cleaningfluid, and means for holding the Web stationary during the cleaningoperation.

ERNEST JAMES SMITH.

